The field of the invention is generally that of amusement devices, and more specifically, to a novel toy for pet animals which includes interactive pet exerciser--furniture having a moveable object.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that cats, being natural hunters and predators, have a need to claw and scratch. These sometimes destructive habits are often due to boredom experienced by confined house cats. All cats need to be allowed their most basic instincts and exercise may well lead to a longer and healthier life.
In prior art, the exercising scratch posts that have been created were fabricated from wood, rope and carpet and yet the cats still seem to destroy our furniture and drapery. This inventor has observed that cats appear to find wood, rope and carpet to be abrasive and potentially harmful to their claws because their claws do not effectively penetrate the wood and the materials don't shred and tear. Cats like to claw drapery and furniture material because their claws do easily penetrate and their shredding seems to give them more of a psychological sense of playful fulfillment. Loosely draped around the exercising toy--footstool is a upholstering like material designed to be clawed, shredded, replaced or recycled. Carpets naturally harbor fleas and ticks whereas these scratch-drape covers are designed to be washed or replaced for a much more sanitary living environment. These shreadable drape curtains provide an ideal satisfying alternative to the furnishings for the cat to stretch and sharpen its claws. The person using the toy footstool can now enjoy the actual feeling of the cat playing and the cat is able to feel and sense the direct contact of the owners presence, using the device as a physical communication medium, for a much closer mutual bond. This sensation of communication through feel is very important to a person who is blind.
It is another observation of this inventor that cats are naturally attracted to a mouse like toy inertly suspended in a mouse hole like some animals in the wild, whose only defense mechanism is being perfectly still, but yet it is their sudden movement that stimulates the innate preditoral instincts of a cat. When the mouse like toy is erratically animated the attraction is even more acute. When the shreadable drape curtain is used to partially obscure the suspended mouse like toy in the mouse hole and the device is animated, the cats curiosity is irresistibly challenged. By using a remote control switch the theater of mutual entertainment is enhanced to include the elderly, inactive bedridden and the handicapped.